Brown's speech draws divergent GOP views

Jerry Brown talks with his wife, Anne Gust Brown, and state Sens. Kevin deLeon (second from left) and Ted Lieu after the governor's speech.

Jerry Brown talks with his wife, Anne Gust Brown, and state Sens. Kevin deLeon (second from left) and Ted Lieu after the governor's speech.

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

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Jerry Brown talks with his wife, Anne Gust Brown, and state Sens. Kevin deLeon (second from left) and Ted Lieu after the governor's speech.

Jerry Brown talks with his wife, Anne Gust Brown, and state Sens. Kevin deLeon (second from left) and Ted Lieu after the governor's speech.

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

Brown's speech draws divergent GOP views

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It seems like just about everyone in California had a reaction to Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State speech that they wanted to share this week. Many were fairly predictable - Democrats and unions were pleased, hopeful, etc. - but there was an interesting divergence among one group: Republicans.

GOP Assembly Leader Connie Conway of Tulare said she told Brown after his speech that she liked how he channeled his "inner Republican," referring to his call to "guard jealously" the increased tax money coming from Proposition 30 that helped balance the budget.

State Sen. Bob Huff of Diamond Bar (Los Angeles County), who leads the Senate Republicans, said, "There were a lot of Republican principles (in the speech). You could say Republican relevancy is alive and well."

But there was a much different reaction from some who are not in elected office.

California Republican Party chairman Tom Del Beccaro had this to say: "It's easy for Gov. Brown to tout austerity and fiscal restraint when he has more of the taxpayers' money in his pocket. His challenge will be to follow through on those promises when the economy continues to stagnate and the Democrats' pie-in-the-sky projections don't come to pass."

So what gives?

"The message to me is the guys in the Legislature have figured it out," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior fellow and politics instructor at the University of Southern California. "They simply can't be the party of 'no.' "

No cows were harmed by this speech: Brown's speech also included two references to animals that were fairly dark.

The first one invoked ancient Egyptians and hungry heifers.

"Recall the story of Genesis and Pharaoh's dream of seven cows, fat-fleshed and well favored, which came out of the river, followed by seven other cows, lean-fleshed and ill favored," he said. "Then the lean cows ate up the fat cows."

A bit later the governor was on to Spanish explorers and their ill-fated pack animals.

"Gaspar Portola and a small band of brave men made their way slowly north, along an uncharted path," he intoned. "Eventually, they reached Monterey but they could not recognize the bay in the dense fog. With their supplies failing, they marched back to San Diego, forced to eat the flesh of emaciated pack mules just to stay alive."

We wondered whether the animal defenders in California thought Brown went on too much about animals being harmed. It seems not to have chafed any hides.

"Creepy dream about cannibalistic cows," said Jennifer Fearing, California director for the Humane Society of the United States and a noted vegan. But she reminded us how it led the Pharaoh to stock up on wholesome, storable and protein-rich grains. "Seems wise to me," she said.

As for Portola's initial ill-fated exploration of California, Fearing said, "It's no bueno to have to eat emaciated mules. Note to Gaspar: Next time, take 101 through California's great salad bowl."

Don't mess with our stars: A new, and frankly stupid, prank has popped up in Hollywood, and soon there will be a bill in the Legislature to try to thwart it.

It's called "swatting" and it's when someone calls 911 to report a fake emergency - such as a robbery or hostage situation - at the home of a celebrity, causing law enforcement and emergency crews to respond. Recent targets include the Kardashian family, Tom Cruise and Justin Bieber.

Lawmakers in California are quick to jump on these kinds of issues, and this week Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), said he will introduce a bill to stiffen the penalties for doing this.

"To those who engage in this dangerous practice, be aware this is not a game, and you will be held responsible in terms of jail time and all associate costs," Lieu warned.